[edgarchieng]

With the lockdown I hardly drive the car these days. Maybe once every three days just to go down the shops for essentials and then back.

I have a CTEK MXS7.0 trickle charger so I want to know if it's okay to plug it in to charge the battery before and after my drive?

Is this better for the battery or am I better off just letting the car do it's own charging during the drive (every 3 days)?

[suby01]

I drive the car maybe every 7-12 days. For me its parked in a garage so I just unplug my radar detector. But 0 issues. Not sure why you would need to charge it every 3 days. But I dont think it hurts anything if you have it set on trickle or maintenance from the battery pack charger thats what its for.

[edgarchieng]

Originally Posted by suby01

I drive the car maybe every 7-12 days. For me its parked in a garage so I just unplug my radar detector. But 0 issues. Not sure why you would need to charge it every 3 days. But I dont think it hurts anything if you have it set on trickle or maintenance from the battery pack charger thats what its for.

Thanks, where I live, journeys don't take very long. We're talking 10-20kms round trip. And now right with the lock down I drive less than 5kms round trip every 3 days. The last time I parked my car for over 7 days the battery power was so low I couldn't start the car.

[suby01]

Interesting. I definitely had it parked for 2 weeks with starting it up for no more than 5 minutes to move the car in the driveway and again 0 issues on my end.

[Alias1431]

Originally Posted by edgarchieng

Thanks, where I live, journeys don't take very long. We're talking 10-20kms round trip. And now right with the lock down I drive less than 5kms round trip every 3 days. The last time I parked my car for over 7 days the battery power was so low I couldn't start the car.

Sounds more like a bad battery or something. I've gone on several two week vacations, and she always starts without issue. You really only need a trickle charger if you're going to be having your car sit 1+ month, IMO.

[edgarchieng]

I have a hardwire BlackVue dashcam which consumes the battery during park until the voltage cut off, so the rest is consumed by the car's comfort access electronics over time

[BMWZ4]

Per Suby's suggestion, just leave it on trickle charge & disconnect when you head out for your essentials. That's what I do with my charger. Been doing that for years. For example, for years I had a 3rd vehicle that I didn't drive in the winter. Those cars were plugged in with trickle charge running 24x7x365. Zero issues.

[scrammer]

Originally Posted by edgarchieng

I have a hardwire BlackVue dashcam which consumes the battery during park until the voltage cut off, so the rest is consumed by the car's comfort access electronics over time

If you have C-A make sure the vehicle is locked when not in use. If not, it will always be in "ready mode" waiting for a key to appear and thus draining the battery over time.

[383vett]

Leaving the car hooked onto a trickle charger won't hurt anything, even if the car is driven often.

[suby01]

Originally Posted by 383vett

Leaving the car hooked onto a trickle charger won't hurt anything, even if the car is driven often.

Correct. Just not sure why OPs car is dying so often. Something may not be right.
I also have thinkware dashcams that record 24/7 in the winter I have shutoff at 13v and summer 12.1v in the summer.

[Rhidium]

Something is draining it. I can leave the car for 2 months with no issues.

Look at the battery, alternator, or devices that could drain your battery (ie radar detector left on due to power source)

One of my old cars had a bad alternator and it drained and killed a new battery within a day!

[JDsX3]

I have used CTEKs for years, including having done reviews (for example https://insight.daumphotography.com/...e-out-of-this/). Normally I use them when one of my vehicles will be sitting for a month or more.

However, with the COVID 19 Stay-at-home requirement, all of my cars including my X3 are on their own CTEKs. Remember to set it to the AGM setting when you hook it up. It will keep your battery at proper charge and extend the life of the battery (based on my experience).

Short trips to replenish groceries for example, will do little to recharge your battery. Using the CTEK during these low to no use times is a good procedure. There is no downside.

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by scrammer

If you have C-A make sure the vehicle is locked when not in use. If not, it will always be in "ready mode" waiting for a key to appear and thus draining the battery over time.

Aren't locked cars always waiting for a key to appear; otherwise, how do they sense it when the key moves within its immediate proximity?

[scrammer]

Originally Posted by jlin101

Aren't locked cars always waiting for a key to appear; otherwise, how do they sense it when the key moves within its immediate proximity?

You need to touch the handle ... Then C-A works!

[Lucky13]

Make sure your trickle charger has a good contact. I have a 2014 M235 with only 18,000 miles I drive almost entirely 2-4 mile trips. I charge it just once a week overnight but many times my black negative is not making good contact with the post under the hood and it never charges. I move it around on the post to get a slow green light to flash. I bought a used 5 series about 10 years ago that drained the battery dead but the dealer discovered that the radio was draining it and they actually replaced the radio.

[MattXYZ]

This thread reminded me that I have a CTEK charger that I used to use for trickle charging a car that I kept in the garage.

I plugged it in and attached to the X3 today because I've not driven it in over 2 weeks. I used the positive terminal and negative connection on the body as indicated in the jump starting instructions. (in the engine bay)

The CTEK switches on fine and the yellow light is lit to show it has power, but it doesn't cycle through the charging modes.

It's an older model CTEK CTE-XS3600.
Does anyone else have one of these and got it to work on the X3?

Does anyone know whether our batteries need a special type of charger?

I might have to get a newer model from Amazon...


Thanks

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by scrammer

You need to touch the handle ... Then C-A works!

There's no need to PHYSICALLY touch the door handle to unlock the car, just inserting a hand between the handle and the door will do the trick. When locked, the vehicle constantly searches for the right key in its proximity in order for C-A to work. In cars with iD7, C-A unlocks the car when the driver is within a few feet of the vehicle, without even touching the vehicle; so the car has to be always "ready" when locked.

[scrammer]

Originally Posted by jlin101

There's no need to PHYSICALLY touch the door handle to unlock the car, just inserting a hand between the handle and the door will do the trick. When locked, the vehicle constantly searches for the right key in its proximity in order for C-A to work. In cars with iD7, C-A unlocks the car when the driver is within a few feet of the vehicle, without even touching the vehicle; so the car has to be always "ready" when locked.

Way to be Jlin ... you solved the the problems of 1 in 20 BMW owners ... for the rest of us peons without iD7!!!

[scrammer]

Contactless locking and unlocking of your BMW with Comfort Access – BMW How-To

[Jeepersjoey]

I did an extended period (2hrs) of coding yesterday and decided to give it a boost from the battery charger.



25%...Oops!
Paul

[jlin101]

Originally Posted by scrammer

Way to be Jlin ... you solved the the problems of 1 in 20 BMW owners ... for the rest of us peons without iD7!!!

Neither of my cars has ID7; I only mentioned ID7's walk-away locking/unlocking to illustrate that the car is constantly sensing the presence of the fob. Yes, grasping the door handle unlocks the car, but you can do the same by inserting your hand between the handle and the door, without any actual physical contact. That "feature" is present in ID5/6 and you should try it. In my 2006 Lexus, the car's puddle and interior lights turn on when the key fob is within 3 feet of the vehicle, which goes to show that keyless entry relies on constant detection from the locked vehicle, which requires electrical drain.

[JDsX3]

Originally Posted by MattXYZ

This thread reminded me that I have a CTEK charger that I used to use for trickle charging a car that I kept in the garage.

I plugged it in and attached to the X3 today because I've not driven it in over 2 weeks. I used the positive terminal and negative connection on the body as indicated in the jump starting instructions. (in the engine bay)

The CTEK switches on fine and the yellow light is lit to show it has power, but it doesn't cycle through the charging modes.

It's an older model CTEK CTE-XS3600.
Does anyone else have one of these and got it to work on the X3?

Does anyone know whether our batteries need a special type of charger?

I might have to get a newer model from Amazon...


Thanks

After you connected the CTEK and powered it up, did you press the MODE button to try and cycle it to the Car or snowflak icon?